I Will Remember You
by EmKayPink
Summary: After admitting to Sonny she's in love with him, Emily has a car accident and is now in a coma. What will she remember when she wakes up?
1. Chapter 1 The Night After

**The Night After**

_"But no matter how many times they warn me, it's just too late because I'm falling in love with you."_

Emily groaned, grabbed a pillow and put it over her face. Why did she drink so much last night? Why did she tell Sonny that she was falling in love with him?

"What am I doing? I know what his life is about. Getting involved with him would be a terrible mistake. Besides, I'm just a friend to him. I'm never going to be able to look him in the eyes ever again. I need to move back in with my family where I belong. I don't belong here. Sonny doesn't really need me anymore. I just need to go home where I can concentrate on going to school and becoming a doctor like I've always wanted."

Emily gets up out of bed, opens the closet, and pulls out a suitcase.

Downstairs, Sonny is trying to get some paperwork done. After reading the same paragraph for the fifth time, he pushes the paperwork away and gets up.

"I can't believe Carly was right. All this time she kept telling me that Emily was falling in love with me and I assumed it was jealousy. I never imagined in a million years that Carly saw what I couldn't, or didn't want to see. God! How could I have missed this?"

Sonny walks over to the back door and stares towards the guest house.

"What am I supposed to do now? If I let her stay, she might think there's a chance for us. But if I make her go, she might think that I don't care about her at all, and that's not true. She's really been great to me and my kids. I owe a lot to her. To be honest, this place lights up when she's here. I really want her to stay."

Sonny sits down on the couch, deep in thought.

Upstairs, Emily gets dressed. She puts all her clothes and things into her suitcase. Inside her heart is breaking. She doesn't really want to leave, but her confession last night has left her no choice. If she stayed, she'd only feel embarrassed every time she was around Sonny. It's bad enough that when he looks at her, she feels as though she's going to melt into a pool of mush on the carpet.

"Okay Emily, it's time to get while the getting is good. If you leave now, you have an opportunity to let Sonny forget you said a thing. Maybe in a year he won't even remember me being a part of his life or that I confessed my feelings for him. Now go downstairs and tell him you're leaving, but don't give him a chance to say anything or try to change your mind."

Emily takes a deep breath, goes into the hallway, quietly closes the door and heads downstairs to tell Sonny goodbye.

Sonny is brought out of deep thought by the sound of Emily coming down the stairs. He gets up and turns to look at her. She holds a hand up to stop him.

"Please let me say what I have to say and get it over with. Don't interrupt me because I only want to say this once. I can't stay here. I really need to go back home so that I can study to become a doctor without any more interruptions. I have enjoyed spending time with you, Michael and Morgan. If the boys ever need me, please ask them to call me. I don't want you to try and stop me or change my mind. I'm doing what is best for me. I hope that you can understand and respect that."

Having said her piece, Emily walks out of Sonny's home. She gets in her car and drives off, and doesn't look back. Had she looked back, she might have seen Sonny standing in his front door looking after her with a hurt and somewhat confused look on his face.


	2. Chapter 2 Sideswiped

**Sideswiped**

As Emily drives off, a strange feeling starts to come over Sonny. He wished he could have said something, anything to make her stay. Didn't she know how much he wanted her here? Didn't she know that the house wasn't quite so dark when she was here? Didn't she know that he was going to miss her?

Sonny closed the door and began walking back to the couch. Didn't she know that he was falling in love with her too? That question made him stop in his tracks. Where in the world did THAT come from?

"Get it together Sonny. How can you even think that you're falling in love with Emily?"

Sonny pours himself a drink and sits down on the couch.

"_I'll tell you how you can think that, but you're not going to like it."_

Sonny takes a big sip of his drink and lets his subconscious mind continue.

"_Emily has been here for you when you needed somebody steady and reliable. She's gracious, kind, and strong. She also happens to be a beautiful young woman which any man would have to be blind not to see. Face it, you simply can't help but fall in love with her. She reminds you of Lilly. And somewhere deep inside, you think that Emily could make you into a better man like Lilly might have done, had she lived."_

Sonny closes his eyes, feeling totally sideswiped by this new discovery.

"I have to forget what I feel for Emily. Jason has asked me to stay away from her and I have to honor that."

As Emily drove, she fought back the tears. The further away from Sonny's house she got, the more her heart broke, and the weaker she felt inside. There was something about Sonny that had made her feel safe. It was something Nikolas had never been able to give to her, no matter how hard he had tried. It wasn't really his fault that he looked like Connor, the man who had raped her. And now, with Sonny, she was finally able to feel as though the rape was truly behind her. She didn't cringe when he held her or touched her. He was so gentle with her.

"Maybe that's what's wrong. Sonny can't fall in love with me because he thinks I'm too needy and fragile."

"_So what are you going to do now? Go to school and become a doctor just to show Sonny that you can be a strong woman? That's a silly reason, if ever I heard one."_

Emily's inner voice was wrong! She was going to become a doctor to be able to help people like she was unable to help her mom survive cancer! How dare her subconscious suggest otherwise?

"_How dare I? I dare because I'm willing to say the things that you're not. Face it Em, at this point, as much as you say that you can't be with Sonny, you're going to do everything in your power to try and make that man fall in love with you. You'll do it in spite of yourself. There's something about Sonny that gives you an adrenaline rush. You've never felt like this for a man. Nikolas and Xander were just silly girl fantasies. Sonny is more of a man than they ever were. You're a woman now, and you want a man who can treat you like one."_

Emily groaned and slumped into her seat just a bit. She knew that there was no way to deny the truth. She closes her eyes, just for a second, to try and clear her mind. When she opens her eyes, there is a deer standing in the middle of the road. She swerves the car to try and avoid the deer, but she ends up sideswiping it, and driving off the road into a ditch. Her airbag inflates, but not before she hits her head on the steering wheel and is knocked unconscious.


	3. Chapter 3 Stay With Me

**Stay With Me**

Sonny hangs up the phone, grabs his coat and heads out the front door with Max. He had gotten a tip that Jason was walking right into a trap at the hospital. Sonny sits in the back of the limo, thinking about Emily.

"_You know you can't tell her how you really feel. You know that there's a chance that your life could end up hurting her, and you'd never forgive yourself if anything happened to her, and neither would Jason. It's just best for everyone involved if you keep this to yourself."_

Sonny shakes his head and tries to reach Jason on his cell phone. There is no answer. Odds are he turned it off when he went into Manny's room.

"_Emily won't forgive you if Jason gets sent to prison for something you asked him to do."_

"Yes I know that!"

Sonny slaps his hand on the seat. He gets himself calmed down, and notices that the car is slowing down.

"Max, what is going on?"

"There's a dead deer in the middle of the road Mr. Corinthos. And if I'm not mistaken, that's Miss Quartermaine's car in the ditch."

Sonny leaps out of the limo and runs toward Emily's car. He can see her leaning over the semi-deflated air bag, with her head resting on the steering wheel. He spots the blood on her head and immediately flings the door open.

"Emily! Emily! Can you hear me? Max, call 911!"

"_Oh God Emily, please be okay!"_

"Emily, it's Sonny. If you can hear me, the ambulance is on the way. You're going to be alright."

Sonny doesn't want to move her, so he kneels down next to her.

"Stay with me Emily. Stay with me."

Everything is dark. She's not sure where she is. She starts to feel alone and scared. Suddenly, she sees a light. Standing in the light is a handsome man. He looks troubled, but strong.

"_Stay with me Emily. Stay with me."_

"_Is he talking to me? Am I Emily?"_

"_Emily, you're going to be alright. I'm going to take care of you. I promise."_

She doesn't know who this man is, but she knows without a doubt that he means what he's saying. She can tell by the look on his face that he cares very deeply for her, and is asking her to stay with him.

"_Of course I'll stay with you. Who are you? Who am I? Am I Emily?"_

As she looks at this man, he keeps repeating his plea for her to stay with him. Who was he? Why couldn't she remember? He looks so familiar, but his name won't come to her. The light fades, and in the darkness all she can hear is his voice.

"_Stay with me Emily. Stay with me."_


	4. Chapter 4 Worry And Dreams

**Worry And Dreams**

At the hospital, Emily is rushed into the ER, and Dr. Patrick Drake examines her. Sonny paces outside the ER. After pacing for a few minutes, he is joined by Jason.

"What happened Sonny? Why is my sister in the ER?"

"Calm down Jason. I was on my way to the hospital to warn you about walking into a trap in Manny's room. Max and I found Emily's car on the side of the road, and her head was bleeding. There was also a deer in the middle of the road. I guess she drove off into the ditch trying to avoid the deer. We called the ambulance and got her here as quickly as we could."

"Have you heard anything about her condition?"

"The paramedics said she hit her head pretty hard, but she had a strong steady pulse, and she was breathing well. Right now Dr. Drake is in there examining her."

Just then, Dr. Drake walks out of the ER door.

"Dr. Drake, how is my sister?"

"Emily seems to be doing just fine. The only thing that worries me is that she is in a coma, which is unusual considering the force of impact when she hit her head. She did hit her head pretty hard, but not hard enough to put her in a coma. We're going to move her to a room in ICU and monitor her on some machines for a while. If she still seems to be breathing on her own and her heart rate is good, we'll transfer her to a regular room."

Sonny and Jason both breathe a sigh of relief, but are a little worried about Emily being in a coma.

"Thanks Dr. Drake. Please keep us updated."

"Jason, I was so scared when I saw her head was bleeding. I'm glad she's not hurt too badly. It's all my fault that she's here."

"Sonny, it's not like you put the deer in the middle of the road."

"You don't understand. Last night at dinner, Emily had a little bit too much to drink and she told me that she was falling in love with me. I told her I didn't feel the same way. She thinks she made a total fool of herself. I beat myself up all night about this. I was trying to decide if I should let her stay, or if I should tell her to go back to the Quartermaine's. Then she came down the stairs and announced that she was going back there, and she didn't want me to try and stop her or change her mind. I should have tried to stop her. If I had, she wouldn't be here right now."

"Emily can be a very strong-willed woman Sonny. I don't think you could have said or done anything to stop her. Don't beat yourself up over this."

Jason pats Sonny on the back, gives him a reassuring look, and goes to check on Emily's progress. As Sonny watches Jason walk away he wonders what Jason would say if he told him that he was starting to fall in love with Emily.

She sees him again. This time he's sitting on a chair in front of a fireplace with a drink in his hand. She watches him for a while, trying to memorize every feature. Eventually he looks up and sees her. His face immediately changes and his eyes light up. She walks over to him with a smile on her face, and sits down in front of him. He wraps his arms around her and she melts into him as a sigh of being content escapes her. She can feel his heart beat, and smell his cologne. She feels safe there in his arms. Slowly he turns her around to face him. He lowers his lips to hers, and as they make contact, fireworks erupt in her mind. She might not be able to remember his name, but she knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that she loves him. Suddenly, he's gone, and everything fades to black. In desperation she searches for him in the dark.


	5. Chapter 5 Bold Confessions

**Bold Confessions**

Jason and Sonny stand outside Emily's room while Dr. Drake updates them on her condition.

"Overall, she's doing well. She is breathing on her own, and she's got a strong heart beat. We did a CT scan of her brain, and everything is working normally. There's no swelling or internal bleeding anywhere. The only thing I think may have caused her to be in a coma is having some sort of emotional trauma before the accident. She may be in a coma for another couple hours, another couple day, or even a month. There's really no way to give you a timetable for this. Basically, she is going to wake up when she's ready to."

As soon as Dr. Drake mentioned that she might be in a coma because of an emotional trauma, Sonny cringed. Jason saw this, and as soon as Dr. Drake left, he turned to his best friend.

"This isn't your fault Sonny. I know you think it, but it's not. There is no way you could have known that this was going to happen."

"But it is my fault Jason. It's my fault because I lied to her."

"What did you lie to her about?"

"I lied when I told her that I didn't feel the same way about her! There I said it. Now you know that I'm falling in love with your sister. I lied to her because that's what I thought was best for her."

Sonny quickly leaves and Jason stands there looking after him with his mouth wide open. Slowly he recovers and goes into Emily's room. She looks at peace for what seems like the first time in a while. He sits down in the chair next to her bed and takes her hand in his.

"Please come back Emily. I had to see you like this when you were fighting Cancer. I didn't like it then, and I don't like it now. You have such a promising life ahead of you. I only want you to be happy. I'm sorry that I told you to stay away from Sonny. He just told me that he's falling in love with you. I can't really say I'm shocked by that. You've grown into an amazing young woman that any man would fall in love with. I've decided that I can't tell you or Sonny who to be with. Besides, Sonny let me be with Courtney, even though it bothered him. I can't forbid him to be with you anymore Emily. If this is meant to be with the two of you, then I'm not going to stand in the way. Just come back to us. I promise to let you live your own life and love who you want. At least with Sonny, I know he'll try his best to take care of you and make sure that you won't get hurt."

Sonny sits quietly in the hospital chapel for a few minutes, and then starts to pray.

"I know I'm not real high on your priority list God, but I'm begging you to let Emily be okay. I've come to need her in my life. Yeah, she does a great job taking care of Michael and Morgan, but it's more than that. I want her in my life because I'm falling in love with her."

"I knew it!"

It was Carly, somehow she had tracked him down.

"I just knew it! I could tell by the way you looked at her, and by the way that you talked about her. Every single time I brought her up, you would leap into her defense. What is the saying? I think he doth protest too much?"

"You were right Carly. Emily was falling in love with me. She told me last night. I was stunned. I honestly had no idea. I didn't know what to do. So I lied to her. I lied because I knew it's what Jason wanted. I lied because I knew that you'd have some major ego trip over being right about it."

"Well, you're probably right about that Sonny. So what do you plan to do now? Are you going to tell her about your feelings when she wakes up? I really think you should keep your feelings to yourself. You know you'd hate yourself if anything ever happened to her."

"Why do you care Carly? You never wanted me to be with her, and you thought she was trying to replace you as the mother of our sons."

"Look, I know I'm not a big fan of the girl. In quite a few ways, she reminds me of Miss Righteous Robin. She's just so caring, kind and virtuous. I'm none of those things. I just don't know what men see in a woman like that. Mostly I'm just trying to look out for you. If anything ever did happen to you, Jason would never be able to forgive you, and I'm afraid that you'd go into one of your dark places and not come out for a very long time. I can't let you disappear on our boys."

"You're not ever going to have to worry about that Carly. Even if something did happen to Emily, I'd still be there for the boys. I'll never abandon them. You can count on that. But it's my life, and you don't get to decide who I can get involved with romantically. You should know that by now."

"I do know that Sonny. This isn't about me trying to run your life. This is about me making sure that my sons never have to be without their father."

"You know you can't count on that anyway, given the kind of life I lead."

"I know. All I can do is anything I can to help you be here. If it means you want me to back off and leave you and Emily alone, that's what I'll do. I just want you to be careful and make sure she's who you really want before you make some big commitment to her."

Carly walks out of the chapel, leaving Sonny praying to God that Emily will be okay.

"_Hello! Is anyone there?"_

"_I'm here Emily. I'll always be here."_

She turns around to see him smiling at her. She looks around and sees two young boys playing with some toys.

"_Are these our sons? Is this our family?"_

Before he can answer her, everything goes black once again.

"_How can I get out of here? I need to get out of whatever place this is and back to reality. I need to get back to the man I love."_


	6. Chapter 6 Welcome Back

**Welcome Back**

Sonny is about to enter Emily's room when Jason stops him out in the hallway.

"We need to talk before you go in there Sonny."

"Jason, please don't ask me to stay away from her. I know you don't want me to be with her, and I know you don't like it, but I need her."

"A lot of people need her Sonny, not just you. But that's not why I stopped you. It's true I don't like it that you want to be with my sister. But you didn't like me being with Courtney either, and yet you didn't try to stop me. I guess it would make me a hypocrite if I tried to keep you away from Emily. I don't like the thought of you with her, but to be honest, I don't think I'd ever think any man was good enough for her. Besides, I know that you'll take good care of her, and will do everything in your power to make sure she never gets hurt."

"Jason, I would never forgive myself if anything ever happened to her. I'm having a hard enough time trying to get over this happening to her right now. I wish I had tried to stop her from leaving."

"I've already told you that this wasn't your fault. My sister has her own mind about things, and she's going to do what she wants to do. One big difference between her and Carly, is that Emily thinks about the consequences of her actions before she takes them."

"So you're going to let whatever happens between me and your sister happen?"

"I don't really have a choice. Emily is going to do what she wants to do, and you almost always do what you want to do. Just promise me you'll take care of her and be gentle with her."

"You've got my word Jason."

Jason pats Sonny on the back and goes to find Sam.

Sonny quietly walks into Emily's room. She is lying on the bed, looking so beautiful. All the worry and hurt are gone from her face.

"_Why couldn't I have just told her the truth? She deserves that from me. I get angry with people who lie to me, and yet I lied to her. What kind of a hypocrite does that make me?"_

Sonny sits down next to the bed and takes Emily's hand in his.

"If you wanted my attention, you've certainly got it now. You know you really didn't have to go to this extreme to get me to notice you."

Sonny flashes his winning smile, and then brings her hand up to her face.

"I'm sorry that I lied to you. I've been fighting my growing feelings for you for weeks now. Part of it was that I was afraid that my life might hurt you. Part of it was that I knew Jason wouldn't want me to be with you. He worries about you a lot. He only wants the best for you, and you deserve the best. I only hope that I'll do. I'm not the best, but I promise you that I will take care of you if you'll let me. I just need you to come back to me. Me and the boys need you. Our lives will fall apart without you. Please come back to me."

He lays his head down on the bed next to her, gently caressing her cheek.

She is about to give up. It's been dark for so long now and she can't seem to find the light. She can't figure out how to get out of this place. She wants to get out of here so desperately so that she can be with the man she loves.

"_Me and the boys need you. Our lives will fall apart without you. Please come back to me."_

She turns around to see herself lying in a hospital bed, and the man she loves is next to her caressing her face.

"_I'm here. Can you hear me? I'm trying to find my way back to you. Help me get there! Please!"_

Suddenly Emily's hand moves ever so slightly. Sonny looks up and sees Emily's beautiful eyes open up.

"You're awake! Oh God! Oh God, you're really back! Wait right here, I'm gonna go get the doctor and your family and let them know."

Sonny runs out of the room to tell the doctor and to find Jason.

Emily is stunned by his sudden departure. She tries to call out to him, but her voice is too quiet. She starts to cry, but then he comes back through the door with a bunch of people she doesn't recognize at all.

Jason runs over to the bed.

"I'm so glad you're okay Em. You had us all so worried."

"Do I know you? You don't seem at all familiar to me. The only person I recognize at all is that man."

Everyone in the room is stunned as Emily points to Sonny.


	7. Chapter 7 Love Blooms

**Love Blooms**

Everyone looked at her in stunned silence. She felt bad that she didn't remember them. But what could she do?

"I'm sorry that I don't remember all of you. I mean, it's clear by the looks on your faces that I should know you, but I don't. And while that man is familiar to me, I don't remember his name. I'm assuming my name is Emily."

"Yes, your name is Emily. I'm Dr. Drake. I'm glad to see that you're awake. To be honest, I was having a hard time trying to figure out why you were in a coma. You didn't hit your head hard enough in the accident to cause one. The blow to your head could very well explain your amnesia though. I'd like to do some tests on you soon to make sure you didn't suffer any other damage."

"That's fine Dr. Drake. I'm willing to do what you think is best. Now, if the rest of you don't mind, I'd like to talk with…"

"My name is Sonny."

"I'd like to talk with Sonny alone."

Mumbling their objections quietly, they all left. Everyone left except him. He was here, and he was real. She wanted to leap out of bed and kiss him.

"I heard you asking me to stay with you. You said you needed me. I saw you and two boys. You said they needed me too, and that you wanted me to come back to you. It was your voice that brought me back. I'm not really sure what our relationship is like, but I do know that I love you, and it was that love that made me fight so hard to get back. I think you love me too, but I don't want to make any assumptions about anything right now, considering I can't even remember my own name."

Sonny stood quietly against the wall for a few minute with his eyes closed. Then he came over to the bed and put his arms around Emily.

"I am so glad that you're okay. When I saw the blood on your head I was so scared. It's all my fault that you were out there."

"I'm not sure I understand. Why would it be your fault?"

"It's my fault because I lied to you. Last night you had a bit of wine to drink, and you blurted out that you had fallen in love with me. I was stunned, and you were embarrassed. It was an awkward situation and it caught me so off guard that I lied to you. I told you that I didn't feel the same way about you. The next morning you announced that you were leaving and that I wasn't to try and stop you or change your mind. You drove off, and that was the last time I saw you until I happened to drive by and see your car in the ditch."

"I didn't drive off the road on purpose did I?"

"No. From what Max and I could gather, you had tried to avoid hitting a deer."

"Oh, okay. So why did you lie to me?"

"You know the guy who came in and said he was so glad you were okay? Well, that guy is your brother. He's also my best friend. He didn't want me getting involved with you. I don't think I could really explain his reasons for not wanting that until you get out of here. Earlier today he told me that if I was really falling for you, that he wouldn't stand in my way. And I am falling in love with you Emily. I need you in my life."

Emily took Sonny's face in hers, and planted a soft, but passionate kiss on his lips. At that moment, the wall around Sonny's heart fell down with a crash, and he kissed her like he had never kissed any other woman. For a brief moment in time, there was nobody else in the whole world besides these two people who had found each other. Nothing else mattered except that they had finally taken that next step in their relationship. Jason peeked in the window, watching Sonny kiss his sister.

"_Take care of her Sonny."_

P.S. I know this sounds like an ending, but it's just an ending to this phase of the story. There is more to come. I appreciate all the reviews so far. It's keeping me motivated to keep writing. Take care.


	8. Chapter 8 Second Chance

**Second Chance**

Dr. Drake had finished his testing and found no signs of brain damage or malfunction.

"I'm going to have to go read your full medical history to see if I can try to understand if there was some pre-existing condition that might have caused you to slip into a coma after hitting your head. I'm not sure how long your amnesia will last, but I am pretty certain it's only temporary and you should regain your memory soon. Get some rest and I'll be back to check on you in the morning."

"Sonny, do you know of anything in my past, medically speaking, that might have something to do with me being in a coma?"

"We really didn't know a lot about each other until recently, so I'm afraid I'm really not the person who can answer that for you. Your brother Jason can tell you more than I can."

"Can you please send Jason in and let me have a few minutes with him alone?"

"For you, I'll do anything." Sonny flashes his charming smile and goes to get Jason for her. A few minutes later, Jason comes into the room.

"I heard you wanted to speak to me."

"Please sit down Jason. I was hoping you could answer some questions for me."

"Of course I will. What do you need to know?"

"Is there anything in my past that might have caused me to go into a coma? Dr. Drake thought maybe I had a pre-existing condition that might have caused my body to shut down after hitting my head."

"I do know of something, but it's a very bad thing, and I'm not sure if you're going to be prepared to hear it yet. I will tell you if you want me to."

"If I'm ever going to get my life back, and possibly even my memory, I need you to tell me everything Jason, whether I'm gonna like it or not."

"Okay Em, but you can't say I didn't warn you. A couple years ago, you were diagnosed with cancer. Your biological mother had died of cancer, so at first you didn't tell any of us that you had it. After you did tell us, you went through a couple procedures, and eventually the treatments on top of the cancer made you so weak that you went into a coma. We were all very worried about you. I was so happy when you woke up. It was really hard to see you in a coma again. I'm okay with my life hanging in the balance, but I'm not so good at handling seeing you hanging on by a thread."

"Ya know, I have a feeling that I must love you an awful lot. I don't know why, but maybe it's the way you are being so honest with me right now. I'm not going to press you about the whole 'my life hanging in the balance' comment right now, but I do expect a full explanation of that later."

"You got it. You really need to get some rest. Is there anything else I can do for you before I go?"

"There is something I do want you to do for me. I want you to bring photos of my family and friends. I want you to get a few people here that I know and love as well. I can't stand not knowing anything about my life. Maybe seeing pictures or seeing people I'm supposed to know might trigger something. I'm determined to get my life back Jase."

Jason looked right at her and smiled really big. "You just called me Jase. That was the nickname you had for me."

Emily's mouth opened wide and she put her hands over her mouth. "Really!"

"Yes, really. It looks like you're already getting some of your memory back little sister. I'm gonna let you get some rest now. I will do what you asked."

"Please send Sonny back in on your way out."

Jason leaves and tells Sonny that Emily wants to see him again. Sonny walks back into the room with a goofy smile on his face. "You wanted to see me?"

"I was hoping that you'd sit by me until I fell asleep. I'm tired, but I'm scared of being alone. I want to know that somebody I do recognize is here watching over me."

"You got it."

Sonny walks over to the chair next to Emily's bed, sits down and takes her hand. He gently caresses her face until she falls asleep.

"_How did I get so lucky to get you back and get a second chance with you? I won't blow it this time, I promise you."_


	9. Chapter 9 Bits And Pieces

**Bits And Pieces**

Sonny had gone to get some coffee, and when he came back into Emily's room, she was sitting on the bed crying. Sonny walked over to her and put his arms around her until she stopped crying.

"Emily, what's wrong?"

"I just had a memory about my mother Paige. She died of cancer when I was very young. I remember how sick she looked near the end. I had to watch her go from being this vibrant fun loving woman, to being this shell that didn't resemble my mom anymore. I loved her so much Sonny, and she died."

Sonny held Emily tighter. "You regained some of your memory, which is a good thing, but I'm sorry that you remembered something so sad."

"Last night Jason told me that I have cancer. Did you know that? It's in remission right now, but it could come back Sonny. I'm so scared. What if my cancer comes back? I don't want you to have to see me the way I had to see my mom. I wouldn't want to put you through that."

Sonny sat on the bed and brought Emily onto his lap and into his arms.

"Emily, I don't want you to ever be afraid of anything. If your cancer comes back, I'll hire the best doctors to treat you. I'll do anything to keep from losing you. I don't care what it takes. You won't ever have to go through anything alone ever again. Not as long as I'm around. And I don't want you to think that you'd be putting me through anything. I'm here with you by choice. If you can accept all the things about me, good and bad, then I can do that for you. I'm not going to abandon you no matter what. I've done that to too many people in my life and I just can't do it anymore. I'm tired of pushing away everything and everybody who has ever tried to make me happy. I won't do it again."

They sat like that for a while until Emily stopped crying. Sonny held Emily's face in his hands and stared into her beautiful brown eyes. He kissed her gently on the lips and then looked at her again.

"As silly as this might sound Emily, this is one of the reasons I started to fall in love with you. You're a very strong woman, and quite capable of taking care of yourself. But I also think that there's this need inside you to be taken care of. I love that you seem to need me. I suppose you could call me old fashioned, but I think a man is supposed to take care of the woman he loves and protect her at all costs. I hope that you will trust in time that I will take care of you and protect you."

"I think I already do trust you. I can't imagine that I would be in love with a man that I didn't trust. It seems silly to think that any woman could love a man she didn't trust. Whenever I'm in your arms, I feel as though nothing bad could ever happen to me. I feel safe when I'm near you. If that isn't trust, Sonny, I don't know what is."

They are interrupted when there is a knock on the door. It's Jason and he has brought along a pretty nurse. The woman smiles warmly at her, and Emily figures this must be one of the people Jason brought to try and help her remember.

"I really hope that you don't take this personally. I can tell that you're a very nice person, but I don't remember who you are."

The girl just smiles and shakes her head. "Ya know Em, I find this whole thing kind of ironic in a way. Not to make light of the whole situation, but first Jason here forgets everyone he is supposed to know after having his head smashed in during a car accident years ago. Now you go and get your head knocked around and you can't remember the people who love you. And after everything else that you and I have been through, I was kinda hoping that we had moved past all the major traumas in your life."

The woman laughed. Emily looked at her for a minute, and then started giggling as well. Emily didn't remember this woman, but she knew right away that she liked her a lot. Suddenly an image of brownies shot through her head.

"This may sound really strange, but all of a sudden I had a vision of brownies. Does that mean anything at all to you?"

"Actually, Em, brownies means something to the three of us." A handsome man walks into the room, put his arms around the woman, and kisses her on the cheek.

"My name is Lucky, and this is Elizabeth. We've only been your best friends for years. And just so you know, we're not going to take it personally that you can't remember us yet. We just wanted to come by and tell you that we're hoping that your memory comes back soon. And when it does, we'll celebrate with a ton of brownies." Lucky and Elizabeth smiled warmly at Emily.

"Well then I better remember quickly, because brownies sound really good right about now. Thanks for coming by to see me. I am working really hard to try and remember my life. You're welcome to come by and see me anytime. I'm not sure when they intend to let me out of this joint, but I hope it's soon."

Lucky hugged Emily, and then Elizabeth walked over and hugged her. "Take your time Em. We'll all be here waiting for you when you remember."

Emily nodded and smiled as they left. Then she hopped out of bed and hugged Jason.

"Thanks so much Jase. This means the world to me. I think this is going to be a long and slow process, but I'm already starting to remember bits and pieces."

Jason smiled and hugged his little sister.

"_It looks like everything is going to be alright after all."_

Outside the room, Manny Ruiz was looking in. He had heard that she had lost her memory. He was hoping to get some time away from his guards and alone with her. He might just be able to use her memory loss to his advantage. He still intended to make Sonny pay for coming after his family.


	10. Chapter 10 Something Wicked

**Something Wicked This Way Comes  
**

Emily was tired, and Sonny needed to go home and check on Michael and Morgan. So he kissed her gently and said he'd be back tomorrow morning. Emily soon fell asleep.

"She's alone, and she's asleep. I want the flowers delivered now. Take care of it."

Manny was sending Emily a bouquet of flowers. He had told the florist that the flowers were from a Nikolas Cassadine. He used that name just in case anybody questioned who the flowers had come from. He would use that name again later, when he went to visit her. He had his family track down a man that looked almost identical to him, and was going to do a switch and bait so that he could go see Emily. If he could get her to trust him, even for a few minutes, that would be all he would need to get her out of the hospital and away from Sonny. The bonus about taking her away from Sonny was that he was also taking her away from her brother Jason. Manny smiled and hopped back in bed. This was going just perfectly. Nothing should go wrong as long as he played it right.

"You won't know what hit you Emily. Before you can even think about being afraid of me, I'll give you memories you won't ever forget."

The next morning, Emily woke up to find a beautiful arrangement of flowers on the dresser. She smiled, thinking they were from Sonny. She walked over to them and pulled the card out.

"_Get well soon Emily. Nikolas Cassadine"_

"Hmm, I wonder who this Nikolas is. It was really nice of him to send me such beautiful flowers. I'll have to thank him when I see him."

"Good morning beautiful." She could see his charming grin before she even turned around.

"Good morning. Do you know a Nikolas Cassadine? I'm guessing from the flowers he sent me that maybe he might be competition." Emily wriggled her eyebrows and then giggled at Sonny.

"Nikolas Cassadine is definitely not competition for me. He gave you up for another woman months ago. I'm not sure why he would send you flowers. Not to mention…"

"Not to mention what Sonny?"

"Oh nevermind. I just didn't realize that he even knew you were in here. He's out of town. I'll see if Elizabeth or Lucky might have told him. It's really nothing for you to worry about right now. What you do need to worry about is eating these homemade blueberry pancakes that I brought you for breakfast."

"Did you make them?" Sonny nodded yes. "Then I'm sure I'm going to love them." Emily paused for a second. "You do know how to cook don't you? I mean, you don't really strike me as the cooking type. You seem too macho for that."

Sonny just laughed. "I've been known to cook some amazing food in my days. I haven't poisoned or killed anybody yet with my cooking."

They both laughed. Emily got back into bed, and Sonny got her plate together. Emily took a bite and paused for a second with a strange look on her face. "Oh come on now, I know that I make the best blueberry pancakes around. You can ask Michael and Morgan if you don't believe me."

All of a sudden a noise escaped Emily that sounded like a moan. "Oh my God Sonny, these are absolutely delicious. You're definitely a keeper. I'd keep you around just to cook for me, even if I didn't love you." She started to giggle and Sonny tried to act like he was insulted. That didn't last very long and soon he was laughing with her.

The fun was soon interrupted with a phone call on Sonny's cell phone. "I'm sorry, but I've got to take this. I'm gonna let you finish your breakfast while I take this out in the hall. I'll be right back." Sonny kissed Emily on the forehead and then went out into the hallway.

"What's going on Jason?"

"It seems that the Ruiz family has been busy. It seems they found a man that looks almost exactly like Manny. I haven't been able to tell what they're going to use him for, but I wanted you to be aware of it. I'll keep you updated on what I find out."

"Okay Jason, thanks. I have a feeling he's getting ready to do something major, so we need to figure out what that is as soon as possible."

Sonny hung up the phone and immediately thought about the flowers that had supposedly come from Nikolas Cassadine. Sonny walked out to the nurse's station to talk to Elizabeth. "Did you or Lucky tell Nikolas that Emily was in the hospital?"

"Neither of us did Sonny. He's supposed to be back in two days, so we thought we'd tell him when he got back."

"Okay Elizabeth, thanks." As Sonny walked back toward Emily's room, he called Max. "Max, I need you to do me a favor. I need you to track down some flowers that were delivered last night to Emily's room. They were supposedly from Nikolas, but he doesn't even know that Emily was in an accident. I think Manny is going to try and use Emily's memory loss to get to her. Get back to me as soon as you find out anything."

Sonny looked in to see Emily devouring the pancakes. He found himself loving her more and more everyday.

"_Manny's not going to get anywhere near you Emily. I swear it on my own life."_


	11. Chapter 11 Setting The Trap

**Setting The Trap**

After Emily finished her breakfast, Dr. Drake came in to speak with her. Sonny held her hand while he spoke.

"I think I've finally figured out why you went into a brief coma after your accident. I found something in your medical records that could explain it, and it's not good news."

"Dr. Drake, if you're talking about my cancer, my brother Jason told me about it yesterday. I don't remember it yet, but I did have a memory of watching my mom die of cancer. Is there a chance my cancer is out of remission?"

"I don't think it is, but I'm going to run some tests this afternoon to verify that. I believe the fact that you've had cancer in the past, and were in a coma because of that, encouraged your body to go into another coma after hitting your head on the steering wheel. Sometimes the human body overreacts to head traumas. We'll run the tests, but I'm pretty sure your cancer is still in remission."

"Thank you Dr. Drake. I'll see you later this afternoon."

As Dr. Drake left the room, Emily sat looking rather nervous and unsure. Sonny wasn't really sure what to say to her, so he took her in his arms and held her tight.

"I wish there was something I could say that would put you at ease Emily. I do want you to know that no matter what the test results say, I'm here for you. I'm not going to run away at the first sign of trouble. I just got you in my life and I'm not ready to even think about losing you."

"Can you go with me when I get my tests done? I don't want to go alone."

"I wish I could stay, but I've got some business I need to go take care of. I won't be gone for too long. I should be done and back here by the time your tests are done."

"I'm sorry for keeping you away from your life Sonny. You don't have to be here with me all the time, as much as I'm enjoying it."

"You're not keeping me away from my life. You're a part of my life now. I just have one thing that really needs my attention. Otherwise, I'd stay right here until they say you're okay to go home."

"Just be careful Sonny, and come back to me when you're done."

"You can count on it." Sonny kissed Emily tenderly for a moment, and then left. When he was outside of her room, Sonny called Max.

"What did you find out about the flowers?"

"It turns out that they were from Manny. The man who picked them up from the florist was one of his family's goons. What do you want to do Mr. Corinthos?"

"Emily is going to have some tests run this afternoon. I want someone here at the hospital to shadow her at that time. I want to see if Manny is going to make a move. I don't want Emily to know that she's being watched. I also don't want Manny taken down or stopped unless it looks like he's going to hurt Emily. Is that understood?"

"Yes Mr. Corinthos. I'll see to it right away."

Later that afternoon, Emily is taken to get her tests done. While she is in the waiting area, a man comes into the room. He smiles at Emily, but for some reason, Emily gets a strange feeling about the guy. But she smiles in return, trying not to let her unease show.

"Hi Emily. I'm sure you don't remember me just yet, but I'm Nikolas. Did you get the flowers I sent you?"

"Yes Nikolas, I did get them and they were lovely. Would you remind me how I know you?"

"I'm your ex-husband. We had some problems we just couldn't work through, so we got divorced. We're still good friends though. I just wanted to send the flowers so you'd know I was thinking of you."

"I see Nikolas. Why didn't you give them to me yourself?"

"Well, Sonny doesn't really like me, and I didn't want to cause a scene." Manny knew he didn't have much longer until somebody came to get Emily. "Anyway, I saw you being taken in here, so I thought I would stop and say hello. I hope you get better soon."

Manny got up and walked out. A few minutes later, a nurse came out to take Emily in for her tests. A man walked out of the shadows and made a phone call.

"Manny did come in to see Miss Quartermaine. I think you're right that he's trying to use her memory loss to get to her. He told her that he was Nikolas. Emily seemed to believe him. What do you want me to do next Mr. Corinthos?"

Sonny told the man to keep an eye on Emily until she got back to her room. Meanwhile, Sonny went to Emily's room to plant some bugs, and set up a candlelight dinner for her to come back to.

"_The trap is being set for Manny. I'm going to make sure he never hurts her, or anybody else ever again."_

As Emily was undergoing her tests, she still couldn't shake the uneasy feeling she had about the man who talked to her in the waiting area.

"_There's got to be some logical explanation of why I felt uneasy around him. I'll talk to Sonny about it when I see him next. He might know."_


	12. Chapter 12 Don't Worry

Sorry that I haven't updated in a while. My youngest son was born with a cleft lip and palate. He had his first surgery this week to fix the cleft lip. The surgery went well, but my little man was in quite a bit of pain, and needed his mommy more than usual. At any rate, let's get back to the story. Thanks for all the reviews. :)

**Don't Worry**

When Sonny was about to walk into Emily's room, he stopped when he saw her sitting on the bed. She looked worried. _"Oh God, don't let it be bad news."_ Sonny walked into the room and Emily looked up. The worried look didn't leave her face.

"What's wrong Emily. Did the results come back from the tests? Was it bad news."

Some softness returned to her face when Emily shook her head no. "No, I haven't gotten the results back yet. They said I most likely won't get them until tomorrow morning. I was just trying to figure out why I was so creeped out by this guy I talked to earlier today. He said his name was Nikolas. Do you know why seeing him would make me feel like I should be worried?"

"Well, Nikolas is your ex-husband. Your marriage didn't end very well because he had an affair with my sister. Maybe that's why you felt awkward."

"But I didn't feel 'awkward' Sonny. I felt like I needed to be afraid of this man. He smiled at me, and it made my skin crawl."

Sonny tried to remain calm and remember that the less she knew now, the less danger she was in. If he told her about Manny, the next time he tried to talk to her, he would know something was wrong. "The only other thing I can think of is that you were badly hurt by his cousin who looked exactly like Nikolas."

"What do you mean I was badly hurt? Please be honest with me. If it was something major, it might trigger my memory."

"A man named Connor who looked exactly like Nikolas raped you a few months ago."

Emily's head hung for a second. When she looked back up, she had traces of tears in her eyes. "Do you think that man was Connor, and not Nikolas?"

"That's not possible Emily. Connor is dead."

Emily nodded, and one solitary tear rolled down her face. "Thanks for being honest with me. I know it must have hurt you to tell me that. I suppose that goes a long way in explaining why seeing Nikolas today really freaked me out."

"I would never let anybody hurt you Emily. I hope you know that. I'm always going to do whatever I have to, in order to keep you protected and safe."

"Sonny, what aren't you telling me? I can tell you're holding something back. Please don't treat me like a child."

"You don't remember very much about my life right now, and I'm afraid if I tell you, you'll go running for the hills."

"Give me some credit Sonny. I obviously loved you despite your way of life. That much I know for sure. You can tell me now."

"Years ago I started in a lifestyle that you could label as organized crime. Your brother is my main enforcer. My life poses some danger to those who share my life with me. I do my best to keep them all safe. It doesn't always work though. I've lost some people in my life as a direct result of the life I live. I've had many women ask me to leave the business for them, and I have refused. The only one who has never asked me to leave it is you."

"There is more to you than that life Sonny. In spite of that kind of life, you're a kind, gentle and compassionate man. I see that man every time I look into your eyes. And as much as I'm sure I didn't like the life you led, I'm sure it was that man that I fell in love with. I feel safe with you, and I feel lucky to have you in my life."

"I am the lucky one Emily. Almost all the other women I've ever been with had some type of agenda they wanted to fulfill. You're the first woman who has ever wanted to be with me, just because you loved me. My ex-wife Carly, as much as I knew she loved me, still always had some kind of agenda. It didn't always involve me, but I was always the one who had to clean up the messes afterwards. With you there is no agenda, and I don't foresee any messes for me to clean up."

Sonny flashed his sly grin. She just adored those dimples he got when he smiled like that. She melted whenever he looked at her. There was just something to sexy and powerful about this man. She smiled at him coyly, and then snuck closer to him, until she planted her lips on his. Their kiss deepened and for a moment Emily thought that she would burst into a million pieces if she didn't stop herself.

"I'm thinking we need to be careful Mr. Corinthos. Any more kisses like that and I may go past that point I don't think either of us are ready for just yet."

Sonny smiled that smile again and nodded his head yes. "Don't worry Emily. I want to take this slowly and savor every minute of falling madly in love with you. I want the timing to be just right when we go that extra step."

Sonny and Emily held hands and smiled at each other. Outside the room, Manny watched and grinned his evil grin.

"_Enjoy it while you can. I will have my revenge."_


	13. Chapter 13 Gone

I've been having some writer's block. I suppose that happens when you're writing more than one story at a time. At any rate, here is the next chapter. Enjoy!

* * *

**Gone**

Sonny held Emily for a while, then he remembered that she had beaten him back to the room and he had wanted to put some bugs in her room and set up a nice candelight dinner for her.

"I have a surprise for you, but I need you to get out of here for a while. I'm going to go get Elizabeth, and I'll be right back."

Emily watched him go with a smile on her face. She was so happy to have him in her life. She decided then and there that if she never remembered her past, she was going to simply go forward with a new life making new memories with her friends, family, and with Sonny.

When the door opened, Emily looked up to see the man who had introduced himself as Nikolas. She smiled at him and asked him to sit down for a minute. Manny made his way to the chair next to her bed.

"I just wanted to apologize if I seemed rather stiff with you earlier. For some reason being around you really creeped me out. I didn't remember that your cousin, who was a dead ringer for you, raped me a few months ago. I hope you can understand my unease."

Manny smiled and pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket. "Oh, but that isn't really the reason you should be uneasy around me. You see, I want revenge on Sonny, and I'm going to use you to get it." Having said that, Manny grabbed Emily and forced the handkerchief over her mouth and nose. As she got weaker and started to lose consciousness, Emily heard him say, "I'm not Nikolas, my name is Manny, and Sonny is going to pay."

Manny picks up Emily and carries her out of her room and into the nearest stairwell. Downstairs in the parking garage, he loads her into a waiting car and then he hops in. "Take me to the cabin." Manny rolls down the window and tosses the handkerchief out. He wants Sonny to know it was him who took her.

Sonny and Elizabeth return to Emily's room and she's not there. "Do you think she's in the bathroom?" Sonny shakes his head no. He can tell by the look of the sheets on the bed that she was taken forcibly from the room. "Elizabeth I need you to alert the hospital security that Emily's been taken. Hurry!"

Elizabeth leaves to do that, and Sonny calls Jason who was elsewhere in the hospital. "Manny made his move while I least expected it. I went to get Elizabeth to get her out of the room while I set up some bugs, and Manny came in and took her. I think he must have drugged her. The sheets indicate a struggle, but she must not have made any noise otherwise somebody would have noticed. Start in the part of the parking garage nearest to southwest stairwell number 4."

Sonny hung up the phone and made his way to the stairwell. He slowly and quietly opened the door. Insteading of heading down towards the garage, he decided to start towards the roof. He climbed very slowly, trying to pick up any trace that Manny had taken her this way. He found nothing, and stood on the roof beating himself up for leaving her alone.

_"I should have posted a guard outside her room. I should have known that Manny wasn't going to wait forever to make his move. Dammit! Hang on Emily! I'm coming to get you. I'll find you if it's the last thing I do!"_

The phone rings and it's Jason. "We found a handkerchief down here. It smells like chloroform. I think he put it here on purpose so that we'd know for sure it was him. Do you want me to call Mac Scorpio?"

"No, I'll do it. Keep looking and see if you can find any witnesses."

Sonny called Mac. "Mac, this is Sonny. I know you're not a fan of mine, but Emily's been taken. We believe it's Manny Ruiz. We found out yesterday that his family had found a man who looked very much like Manny, but we didn't know what he was going to be doing. We think the man in Manny's room right now is that imposter."

"Sonny, if that's true, than the whole 'changed man' routine he put on was fake. I'll send some people over to take a look at the guy in Manny's room and see if we can verify if it's him or not. Do you have anything else to tell me?"

"Jason found a cloth with chloroform on it. We think Manny left it there on purpose. Jason put it in a plastic bag. He's also trying to see if he can find any witnesses. We're willing to work with the PCPD in order to get Emily back as quickly as possible."

"Okay Sonny, I'll have my men get on this right now. Thanks for the call."

_"Hang on Emily! I'm coming to get you. I'm not going to lose you. Not now, not ever!"_

Somewhere in the darkness she could hear his voice. He was coming to get her. He was going to save her no matter what.

_"Hurry Sonny, I need you."_


	14. Chapter 14 Memories Returned

**Memories Returned**

Alcazar had purchased this little cabin a few months ago for him. He knew the man was using him to get revenge on Sonny. That suited him just fine, since he too sought revenge on that man who had killed his brother. _"Nobody kills somebody in my family Mr. Corinthos, and gets away with it. I will have my revenge no matter what I've got to do to get it."_ Manny's thoughts were interrupted when his cell phone rang.

"Yes Mr. Alcazar, I'm here. I have Miss Quartermaine. Oh I understand that you don't want her hurt. I'll take real good care of her, you can count on that. No, nobody knows that I'm working with you. I've left no traces that can lead back to you. I'll wait here until you let me know what our next move is going to be."

Emily slowly woke up. She realized that she was tied up and lying on a couch. She stopped squirming when she heard Manny's voice. _"I can't let him know that I'm awake just yet. I need to try and figure out what he's up to and see if I can figure out where I am."_ Emily slowly opened her eyes and tried to take in her surroundings. She was on a couch in the middle of a big open room. The only other furniture she could see was a large chair with a footstool in front of it. She tried to look around more, but stopped when she heard Manny close the cell phone. She closed her eyes and hoped that he hadn't noticed that she was awake.

Manny walked over to the couch where Emily lay. As far as he could tell, she was still out of it. "Don't you worry Emily, I'm gonna take real good care of you. I told Mr. Alcazar that I wouldn't hurt you, but I'm just not sure I can keep my word on that. I think that I'm going to have a little fun with you." As he said that, he stroked her arm. "Oh yes Emily, I'm gonna have all kinds of fun with you."

As Emily felt Manny stroke her arm, she grew sick to her stomach. His touch reminded her of the way Connor had touched her that night he had raped her. She wished she had never agreed to try and trick Helena into coming back by making her think that Connor was Nikolas. She just had to hang on. Sonny would do his best to find her, as would Jason. She just hoped they got to her before Manny did to her what Connor had. She had barely survived one rape, she wasn't sure if she could survive two. Suddenly it occurred to her that she had remembered so much. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that she remembered it all. She knew exactly who Manny Ruiz was. _"No wonder I felt terrified of this man when he showed up before my tests! Why couldn't I have remembered this sooner? He used my memory loss to get to me. He's trying to use me to get to Sonny and most likely Jase too. Dammit! I'm so stupid."_

"I see that you're awake Miss Quartermaine. Let me introduce myself. My name is Manny Ruiz. Your man Sonny and your brother Jason killed my brother. I know you are having memory issues right now, so I wanted to bring you up to speed. I'm using you to get to Sonny and Jason since I know they both care very deeply for you. They're both going to regret the day they ever messed with my family. Lucky for me, they don't have any idea where I am, but I made sure they knew that I had taken you. I bet right now the handkerchief I used to subdue you is being tested at the PCPD lab. Everything is falling into place. Now, I'm going to let you get some rest. I have big plans for you a little later. Oh yes."

Emily fought back the tears. She wasn't going to let him rape her. She wasn't sure how she would be able to fight him off, but she was going to do her best. She wasn't prepared the night Connor raped her, but this time she knew it was coming. She'd be ready. She sat herself up and took a look around her. _"I know this place! This is where Mary hid Nikolas when she was convinced that he was her long lost husband Connor. If only I had trusted my instincts. I knew Nikolas wasn't dead. Maybe then Mary wouldn't have gotten ahold of him, and then maybe Connor would have never come to town."_

She couldn't do this to herself. She wasn't to blame for anything that happened with Mary and Connor. Emily laid back down and did her best to try and come up with some kind of plan. _"Please hurry Sonny. I need you to find me."_

Sonny and Jason were waiting at the PCPD for the lab results on the handkerchief they found. After waiting for what seemed like forever, Mac came in with the results. "There was chloroform on the handkerchief as well as dna for both Emily and Manny. The man who was in Manny's room at the hospital has been charged with aiding and abetting, and won't be seeing the light of day anytime soon. Do either of you have any idea where Manny might have taken Emily?"

Both Jason and Sonny nodded no. Just then the phone rang. "PCPD, this is Officer Jenkins, how can I help you sir or ma'am? Yes he's here, can you hold for a second? Okay, hang on. Hey Mac, I've got an anonymous caller here. He says he's got a tip for you about Manny Ruiz"

Mac walked over and picked up the phone. Sonny and Jason stood next to him, trying to hear what the guy on the other end of the phone was saying. "This is Mac Scorpio. What do you know about Manny Ruiz?"

_"Mr. Ruiz has taken Miss Quartermaine to a small home just on the outskirts of town. I believe Jason Morgan lived there at one time, as did Nikolas Cassadine."_

The man on the other end of the phone hung up suddenly. "Do you have any other information? Hello? Hello?" Mac hung up the phone. "Did we get a trace on the guy who called?" "I'm sorry Commissioner, he wasn't on the phone long enough."

Mac looked at Jason and Sonny. "The guy said Manny was holding Emily at a cabin that both Jason and Nikolas had lived in at some point. Do either of you know what cabin he's talking about?"

Jason's face lit up. "I know exactly where that is." Jason gave Mac the address and a plan was made to go out to rescue Emily.

Meanwhile, Sonny stood off to the side. Would they get there in time?

_"Hang on Emily, we're coming!"_


	15. Chapter 15 Violence And Victory

**Violence And Victory**

Alcazar hung up the phone and turned off a voice altering machine. He had planned to betray Manny all along. He had promised Brenda before she left that she would put aside his plans to get revenge on Sonny for killing his brother. When he found out that Manny was planning on taking Emily hostage, he made sure to set up a place where Manny thought he'd be safe. He knew that Brenda would never forgive him if anything ever happened to Emily, so as soon as Manny told him that he was at the cabin, he had called the police and tipped them off.

_"I may not always be an honorable man, but I know what Manny would try to do to Emily. I'm not going to stand by and let that monster hurt her."_

Manny did one last sweep of the perimeter, and went back into the cabin. He took off his coat and headed straight for Emily.

"Now, Miss Quartermaine, I'm ready to have some fun with you. Nobody is around, and nobody can hear you scream." Manny laughed and grabbed Emily. He took her over to the floor and shoved her down. As he did so, Emily screamed and tried to kick him. Manny laughed and slapped her across the face. He grabbed her legs and sat on them. He then ripped her shirt off. He violently kissed her while clawing at her breasts. Emily bit Manny on the lip, and used her legs to push him off her. Manny stood up, shook his head, and spit the blood from his bit lip in Emily's face. "You're a bit of a spitfire aren't you? I supposed I'm going to have to do this the hard way. That's alright, I always did prefer the hard way."

Manny went to get another piece of rope and Emily steadied herself for his next attack. It took him a few minutes to find the rope, and the waiting was almost more than she could bear.

_"Oh God Sonny! Where are you? I need you now. Please find me, oh please find me."_

She felt tears sting her eyes. She couldn't let him see her cry, so she fought back the tears. She rolled onto her tummy and tried to crawl into the kitchen. Just then Manny found the rope, and turned around to see her slithering away from him.

"Oh no you don't Emily. You're not getting off that easily. I'm going to have my way with you and there's nothing you can do to stop me, unless you kill me. But since I don't see any weapons on you, and your hands are tied, I don't think I've got to worry about that." Manny dragged Emily to a chair and tied her legs to it. He then took a knife and cut away the string on her pants. He started to pull them down when Emily hit him in the face with her head. Now his nose was bleeding as was his lip.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd think that you enjoyed it rough. Is that how you like it Baby?" Manny slapped Emily across the face. She screamed at him and spit in his face. Then he kneed her in the stomach, knocking the wind out of her. Then he yanked her pants down.

_"Where are you Sonny? I can't hold him off anymore. Oh God, please don't let me be raped again."_

Outside the cabin, police officers were taking up positions near each exit. Sonny and Jason crouched down near the front door with Mac. None of his men were able to see inside any of the windows of the cabin. They weren't sure where Manny or Emily was.

Mac knew they needed to keep the element of surprise if they were going to save Emily. Mac whispered into his walkie-talkie, "Can anybody see anything?"

"No commissioner, we can't see anything. The windows are too high. If we tried to get up high enough to look inside, we'd make too much noise. What do you want us to do?"

"Odds are that he's got her in the front part of the house. I want you to quietly confirm that by looking through the door in the kitchen."

A few minutes passed and then, "There's nobody in the kitchen sir. It's all clear back here."

"Okay, wait for my signal and we'll take him by surprise."

"Yes sir."

Sonny glared at Mac. "You can't just bust in there. Emily might get caught in the crossfire and get killed."

"I know that you're concerned for her safety Sonny, but these men are highly trained for this kind of situation. The best thing we can do is try to get his attention focused out here on us. If we can do that, then my men will sneak in the back and get Emily out of there."

Just then they heard Emily scream inside. Without thinking, Sonny and Jason both ran for the front door. When they got there, they could see Manny standing over Emily who was tied to a chair with her shirt gone and blood dripping down her face. Sonny signaled to Jason and Jason quietly opened the front door. Manny kneed Emily in the stomach and pulled her pants down. Before he could do anything else, Sonny hit him from behind and put him on the ground. Manny tried fighting him off, but he couldn't. He kept fighting until he saw the sniper rifle pointed at his head.

"How did you find me? Nobody knew I was here."

"We got an anonymous tip at the police station. Apparently somebody knew you were here."

While Sonny held Manny down and Mac put handcuffs on him, Jason gently untied Emily and put his coat over her. She pulled up her pants and then collapsed into his arms. "Thank God you're here Jase. I was so scared. He h..h..hit me and r..r..ripped my shirt. I tried to fight him off, but there was nothing more I could do." Emily collapsed to the floor crying. Sonny came over and held her.

Jason walked over to where Manny was sitting on the floor. He kicked Manny in the head. "I want you dead you son of a bitch! You tried to rape my sister you sick monster!" Manny just smiled and then he laughed. "That's the third time you've kept me from having my way with a woman who was close to you. I don't think I can let it slide this time."

Mac yanked Manny up off the floor. "You don't have a choice but to let it slide Mr. Ruiz. You're going to be in prison for a very long time by the time we're done with you."

Mac escorted Manny outside. A female officer walked over to where Emily and Sonny were. "I'm sorry Miss Quartermaine, but I need to take some pictures. This will help to build a strong case against Manny Ruiz for attempted rape." Emily stood up and nodded somberly. "Whatever is going to put this creep away."

"I need you to take the jacket off and have you sit back down in the chair you were in." Emily did as she was told. The officer took photos of her in the chair, and then shot closer pictures of the bruises and cuts on Emily's body. "Thank you Miss Quartermaine. You can put some clothes on now."

Sonny took off his suit jacket, and gave Emily his shirt to put on. Then he put his suit jacket back on and buttoned it. Emily put the shirt on and then hugged Sonny tight. "I kept calling out for you. I hoped you would find me, and you did." Emily then went over and hugged her brother. "Thanks for finding me. I knew I could always count on you to rescue me. I love you Jase."

Suddenly Emily looked scared. "What's wrong Emily?" "I almost forgot that I remembered!"

Both men looked at her funny. "I got my memory back! I guess the trauma of this whole thing made it come back. I remember lying on the couch, knowing he was going to rape me like Connor did, and all of a sudden it all came flooding back."

Both men hugged Emily and silently thanked God that she was alright.

P.S. This is not the end of this story. However, the army just informed us that we're moving, and we have to report by March 10th. I'm not sure when I'll be getting back online to post more chapters. When the inspiration hits me, I will be writing some new chapters. So when I do get a chance to post some more chapters, hopefully I'll have a few that I can post. The same thing applies to my other story, Victim No More. I thank all of you for reading this so far, and for all of the reviews. Take care everyone, and look for more chapters either in late March or early April.


	16. Chapter 16 Meeting of the Minds

**A Meeting Of The Minds**

The next day, Jason came by early to visit Emily in the hospital. After she had been rescued from Manny last night, the doctors insisted that she remain overnight just for observation. When Jason arrived, he found Emily awake, watching Sonny where he slept in an uncomfortable position.

_"How did I miss this? Emily has grown into a woman, and has given her heart to my best friend. On the one hand, last night proved how dangerous it could be for her to be involved with Sonny. On the other hand, it's the same danger she's in just because she's my sister."_

Jason knocked quietly on the door, waking Sonny and causing Emily to look up.

"I don't mean to interrupt this Kodak moment, but I'd like to talk to my sister alone."

Emily and Sonny both started grinning. "What?" Emily giggled and said, "You made a joke Jase. You never make jokes."

"Consider it part of the new me. Now, can I get my sister alone for a while or not?"

Emily nodded and Sonny kissed her on the cheek. Sonny patted Jason on the shoulder and left the room. Jason stood looking at Emily with a somewhat blank stare, then went and sat down in the chair next to her bed.

"Why didn't you tell me..."

"Jase, I'm sorry that I lied to you when you asked me if I was falling in love with Sonny. I just wasn't sure what I was feeling. Then you gave me the song and dance about all the women that had been hurt by him, so I decided to keep my mouth shut until I knew what was going on."

"Which I'm sure drove you into his arms faster than had I just kept out of it." Emily just looked at him not knowing what to say. "But that's not the question I was going to ask you before you blurted out your little confession."

"Oh. I'm sorry. I just thought, given recent events, that you were mad about how I felt for Sonny. What were you going to ask me?"

"Why didn't you tell me that there would come a day when you wouldn't need me to protect you anymore? I've watched you in the past few days Emily. You've grown into an amazing young woman who is stronger than I might have ever given you credit for. It's apparent that you don't need me anymore."

Emily took his hand and looked him in the eye. "There will never come a day that I won't need you in my life. I have grown into a strong woman, but it's only because I always knew that you'd be here for me if I ever needed you. I have come to depend on that fact. What I've learned about being strong came from having you as my brother. Just as sure as I knew Sonny would find me yesterday, I had no doubt that you'd be there with him to rescue me. No matter where I go, what I do, or who I'm with, I'm always gonna need you. I'm always gonna need to know that you'll be my knight in shining armor."

Jason was quiet for a moment. "Here's the part where I tell you that I don't want you with Sonny because it's a dangerous life, and I don't want you in danger." Emily started to object, but Jason stopped her. "That is my first instinct as your knight in shining armor. I didn't think you were tough enough to put up with this kind of life. What I failed to realize was that by just being my sister, you became strong enough to be part of this life that Sonny and I have. I can't say that I'm happy with your choice to get involved with Sonny. If he ever hurts you, I'm going to have to overlook my friendship with him, and I hate the thought of that. You and Sonny were two of the first people who accepted me without condition after the accident. I love both of you very much. But if I had to choose between you two, I'd have to take family over friend every time."

"Can you at least agree to give us some time to figure out where this is going, if it's going anywhere at all? Since the rape, and my failed marriage to Nikolas, I felt very numb inside. Sonny makes me feel like there's hope for me to find love again, even if it doesn't end up being with him. I feel like I owe it to myself to at least experience this with him. I love you very much Jase, and normally I'd fully understand and appreciate your concern. But this is Sonny, Jase. He's been your best friend for a very long time. Do you really think that he's not fully aware that you'd hurt him in a heartbeat if he ever did something to me?"

"I've already had this discussion with Sonny. He knows how I feel about this. I told him that I'd most likely never accept any man that wanted to be with you. I also told him that he was the closest thing I'd most likely ever get to a man that I would trust with you."

"Oh really? And when did you tell Sonny all these things?"

"I told him this while you still had no memory of who anybody was but Sonny."

"Speaking of that time, I now have a small understanding of what it must have been like for you after the accident. Seeing a bunch of people who expected so much from you, when you didn't know them from Adam. Thank you for trying to help me remember. It really meant a lot to me. It also means a lot to me that you're willing to let me and Sonny at least see where this thing is going. I love you so much, and the last thing I'd ever want would be to disappoint you, or come between you and Sonny."

Jason hugged Emily. "I love you both, and I only want what's best for you guys. Just promise me that you'll be careful and take things slowly."

They heard a knock and Sonny opened the door. "Is this meeting of the minds over with yet?"

Emily and Jason both looked at him curiously. "I just thought that it was an appropriate thing to say, given that the both of you have had your minds scrambled by car accidents."

All three of them laughed, and their collective laughter could be heard in the hallways.

* * *

_Author's Note: I'm sorry it took me so long to update. It turns out the Army didn't move us like they said they were going to. I've had major writers block until last night when some ideas came to me as I was falling asleep. I put up another chapter of my other story Victim No More as well. The Army still might be moving us this summer, but I'm hoping to have both these stories done by then so you won't be left hanging. I really feel I've only got a few more chapters left of this one. I've just gotta get it all planned out in my head. Thanks for all the feedback and encouragement you've given me. Stay tuned for more from me soon._


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